Justices say no constitutional right to speedy sentencing

The court was being asked for the first time to extend the right to a speedy trial that is part of the Sixth Amendment

May 19, 2016 03:53 PM

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that a delay in imposing a prison sentence does not violate the Constitution’s right to a speedy trial.

The justices on Thursday upheld the sentencing of Montana defendant Brandon Betterman, who waited in jail for 14 months before being sentenced on a bail-jumping charge.

The court was being asked for the first time to extend the right to a speedy trial that is part of the Sixth Amendment to the sentencing phase of a case.

But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said for the court that “the right does not extend post-conviction.”